CHICAGO - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has ordered five Illinois feedlots to stop all unauthorized discharges of manure and wastewater into area streams. The feedlots were told they had to comply with the Clean Water Act. The EPA also ordered several of the feedlots to apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for discharge permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

So far, none of the lots has been fined.

"EPA is ordering the feedlots to take action to prevent waste from entering nearby waterways," said EPA Acting Water Division Director Kevin Pierard. "When pollutants from livestock manure and other animal production waste discharge into waterways they can create a threat to public health and harm water resources."

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The feedlots are located in northwest counties of the state in the Mississippi River watershed where impaired rivers and streams are common. EPA inspectors noticed that the facilities were not using management practices to prevent discharges of manure and other animal production waste. Manure and wastewater from animal feeding operations have the potential to contribute pollutants to the environment such as nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, sediments and pathogens. Stopping unauthorized discharges may require constructing larger storage structures, moving or redesigning the feedlots, or changing waste and material handling practices.